Horses to Watch: Track these weekend stakes horses

In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.

Upcoming entries

Justique

One of the most impressive 2-year-old fillies to race in 2022 was Justique. A powerful last-to-first debut winner during the summer at Del Mar, Justique overcame some missed training time to finish third in the Chandelier (G2) on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, then unleashed an effortless rally to dominate the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz by 2 1/4 lengths.

Justique will make her 3-year-old debut in Sunday’s sixth race at Santa Anita, the Santa Ynez (G3, post time 5:30 p.m. EST), a seven-furlong Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier. The daughter of Justify has already beaten three of her five rivals and should be tough to deny while sticking to the same distance as the Desi Arnaz, especially if she can overcome her tendency to break slowly.

National Treasure

Although National Treasure failed to win a stakes at age 2, he nevertheless ranked among the best juveniles in the country. The Bob Baffert trainee won his debut at Del Mar over future Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) winner Practical Move, then ran second in the American Pharoah (G1) behind Cave Rock and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) against Forte and Cave Rock.

National Treasure will seek to snatch a graded win of his own in Sunday’s eighth race at Santa Anita, the Sham (G3, post time 6:30 p.m.). He’s one of four Baffert trainees entered in the one-mile contest, so the competition figures to be fierce. But National Treasure’s promising form lines against Cave Rock and Forte stamp the son of Quality Road as the horse to beat under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.

Speed Boat Beach

National Treasure has proven his worth against Grade 1 company, but stablemate and fellow Sham entrant Speed Boat Beach is arguably more accomplished. With the exception of a ninth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Speed Boat Beach hasn’t been beaten in four starts, counting victories in the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) and Speakeasy on his resume.

Speed Boat Beach has been competing on turf as of late and will switch to dirt for the Sham, but that shouldn’t be an issue. The son of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern won his debut in track-record time over the Del Mar main track and might be even better on dirt.

Touchuponastar

The dirt prowess of Touchuponastar is already well-established. The 4-year-old gelding has won four of his six starts over the main tracks at Fair Grounds, Evangeline Downs, and Delta Downs. He’s also won three races in a row by a minimum of 4 3/4 lengths, most recently smashing older rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Louisiana Champions Day Classic S. at Fair Grounds.

Now we’ll find out whether Touchuponastar can translate his strong dirt form to success on turf. Assuming Saturday’s eighth race at Fair Grounds, the Louisiana Champions Day Turf (post time 5:45 p.m.) stays on grass as scheduled, Touchuponastar will give the green a try for the first time.

The surface switch is a question mark, and defending Louisiana Champions Day Turf winner Who Took the Money is a formidable rival. But Touchuponastar defeated Who Took the money in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, and Brisnet stats indicate that Touchuponastar’s sire (Star Guitar) sees a solid 14 percent of his progeny succeed when trying turf for the first time. Don’t be surprised if Touchuponastar shakes loose on an easy lead and forgets to stop in the Louisiana Champions Day Turf.

Which horses do you have your eyes on?